- 1578 Giovanni B Moroni, Italian portrait painter, dies
- 1590 Bernardino de Sahagún, Spanish Franciscan friar called "the first anthropologist" for his studies of Aztec beliefs and culture, dies (b. 1499) [1]
- 1591 Gerard de Jode, Flemish publisher and cartographer, dies at about 82
- 1658 Maria Margaretha van Angels, Dutch prioress at Oirschot, dies at 52
- 1661 Shunzhi Emperor of China (1644-1661) Third Qing Emperor, dies of smallpox at 22
- 1679 Joost van den Vondel, Dutch poet and dramatist (Jephtha), dies at 91
- 1705 Jean Gilles, French composer, dies at 37
- 1705 Philipp Jakob Spener, German theologian (b. 1635)
- 1721 James Stanhope 1st earl of Stanhope, English general, dies at 47
- 1738 Georg Reidel, German composer, dies at 61
- 1745 Coelestin Praelisauer, German organist, composer, and monk, dies at 49
- 1754 Nicolaas Kruik, Dutch hydraulic engineer (drained Haarlemmermeer), dies at 75
- 1757 Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole of Wolterton, English diplomat, dies at 78
- 1758 Bernhard Christian Weber, German composer, dies at 45
- 1766 Leopold Joseph Graf Daun, Austrian field marshal, dies at 60
- 1775 Eusebius Amort, German Roman Catholic theologian, dies at 82
- 1790 William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist, dies at 79
- 1807 Pasquale Paoli, Corsican freedom fighter, dies at 80
- 1812 Franz Schneider, Austrian composer, dies at 74
- 1818 Charles XIII, King of Sweden (1809-18) and King of Norway (1814-18), dies at 69
- 1822 Ali Paşa Tepelenë, known as 'The Lion of Janina", Ottoman Albanian ruler, Pasha of Yanina (1788-1822), dies aged somewhere between 78-82
- 1825 Pierre Gaveaux, French composer, dies at 64
- 1831 Jan van Speyk, Dutch naval hero, commits suicide by blowing up own gunboat to avoid capture during Belgian Revolution at 29
- 1838 Philippe Libon, Spanish composer, dies at 62
- 1867 Salomon Munk, German Jewish French oriental scholar, published Arabic edition of Maimounides, dies at 63
Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)
Scottish historian and essayist (The French Revolution), dies in London at 85
- 1888 (Anthonij) "Anton" Mauve, Dutch realist painter, and cousin-in-law of Vincent Van Gogh, dies at 49
- 1892 Emilie Flygare-Carlén, Swedish novelist (b. 1807)
- 1897 Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn, American HOF pitcher, 1880-91 (won MLB record 60 games & Triple Crown 1884; no-hitter 1883; Providence Grays, Boston Beaneaters, and 3 other teams), dies at 42
- 1907 Ludwig Thuille, Austrian composer (sextet for piano and wind quintet), dies of a heart attack at 45
- 1911 Petrus A. Cronjé, Transvaal Boer general (siege of Mafeking), dies at 74
- 1915 Ross Barnes, American baseball infielder (3×NA/NL batting champion 1872, 73, 76; 4×NA/NL runs scored leader; 4×NA/NL hits leader; Boston Red Stockings), dies at 64
- 1917 Jaber II Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1860)
- 1917 Paul Rubens, English musical comedy composer, (Miss Hook of Holland), dies at 41
- 1919 Vasili V Rozanov, Russian philosopher and writer, dies at 62
- 1922 James W. Tate, English composer, dies at 46
- 1922 Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, Croatian inventor (b. 1871)
- 1924 Alexis Hollander, German conductor and composer, dies at 83
- 1926 André Gedalge, French composer (le Petit Savoyard, Phoebé) and Mayor of Chessy, Seine-et-Marne, dies at 69
- 1927 Inayat Khan, Indian singer, musicologist, and philosopher (founder of Sufi Order - London, 1914), dies at 44
- 1929 Siegfried Ochs, German composer, dies at 70
- 1932 Barney Dreyfuss, American Baseball HOF executive (owner Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-32; World Series 1909, 25), dies at 66
- 1937 Lou Andreas-Salomé, Russian-German author (Im Kampf um Gott), dies of uremia at 75
- 1938 Hans Litten, German lawyer, workers' rights advocate, anti-Nazi antagonist, and educator, commits suicide while imprisoned at Dachau concentration camp at 34 [1]
- 1941 Banjo Paterson, Australian poet, author of "Walzing Matilda" (b. 1864)
- 1943 Wim Gertenbach, Dutch resistance fighter (Slogan), shot by Nazis
- 1944 Robert E. Park, American sociologist (human ecology, marginal man), dies at 79
- 1945 Violette Szabo, French WWII secret agent, is executed by Nazis at 23
George Arliss (1868-1946)
British Academy Award-winning actor (Disraeli; Devil; Green Goddess), dies at 77
- 1947 Ganzefles, Dutch nazi spy/Jews hunter, executed
- 1947 Hans Fallada [Rudolf Wilhelm Friedrich Ditzen], German writer (Little Man, What Now?), dies at 53
- 1948 Johann Blaskowitz, German general (surrendered at Wageningen), dies at 64
- 1949 Juozas Tallat-Kelpsa, Lithuanian composer and conductor, dies at 50
- 1954 Vittorio Gnecchi, Italian composer, dies at 77
- 1955 Ernest Blood, American Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach (Passaic HS, NJ, 200-1 record, 1915-24), dies at 82
- 1956 Savielly Tartakower, Austrian Polish French chess player, dies at 74
- 1957 Joseph Ben Hardaway, American storyboard artist, director, and creator of Bugs Bunny, dies of a heart attack at 66
- 1957 Sami Ibrahim Haddad, Lebanese surgeon (b. 1890)
- 1958 H. M. Tomlinson, British writer (Under red ensign), dies at 84
- 1959 Curt Sachs, German musicologist, dies at 77
- 1959 Gwili Andre, Danish actress (No Other Woman, Roar of the Dragon), dies in a fire at 52
- 1960 Louis Stricker, South African cricketer (South African open bat in 13 Tests 1909-12), dies at 75
- 1960 Rudolf Nelson, German composer, dies at 81
- 1961 Anthony Gustav de Rothschild, British philanthropist, dies at 73
- 1962 Jacques Ibert, French composer (Escales), dies at 71
- 1965 Irving Bacon, American actor (Branded Men, Fort Ti), dies at 71
- 1967 Herman Teirlinck, Belgian writer (Jokaste against God), dies at 87
- 1967 Leon Leonwood Bean, American department store founder (b. 1872)
- 1968 (Charles Luckyth) "Luckey" Roberts, stride pianist and composer, dies at 80-ish [various sources dispute birth year, 1887 to 1895] [1]
- 1969 Thelma Ritter, American character actress (All About Eve; Rear Window; Pillow Talk), dies of complications after a heart attack at 66
- 1970 Rudy York, American baseball player (b. 1913)
- 1971 Mátyás Rákosi, Hungarian party leader and Prime Minister (1952-53), dies at 78
- 1972 Marianne Moore, American poetess (Pulitzer 1951), dies at 84
- 1975 Åke Persson, Swedish bebop jazz trombonist (Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, 1963–71), dies at 42
- 1976 Roger Livesey, Welsh actor (Drum, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp), dies from bowel cancer at 69
- 1976 Rudy Pompilli [Rudolph Pompilii], American jazz and rock saxophonist (Bill Haley and His Comets - "'Rudi's Rock"), dies of lung cancer at 51
- 1977 Izaak Boleslavski, Russian chess player, dies at 67
- 1977 Oskar Klein, Swedish physicist (b. 1894)
- 1978 Annie Romein-Verschoor, Dutch historian and author (Low Countries by the Sea; Erflaters - both written with her husband Jan), dies at 83
- 1978 Frans van Immerseel, Belgian graphic artist, dies at 68
- 1979 Eddie Paynter, English cricketer (20 Tests for England, avg 59.23), dies at 77
- 1981 Barend Barendse, Dutch sports reporter and actor (Zeskamp, Oebele), dies at 73
- 1981 Ella Grasso, American politician (1st woman governor not a widow/spouse of a previous governor, Governor of Connecticut (D) 1975-80), dies at 61
- 1981 Kuda Bux, Indian mystic (I'd Like to See), dies at 75
- 1982 Dolores Moran, American actress (Yankee Doodle Dandy), dies of cancer at 56
- 1982 Neil Aggett, South African worker's union leader, commits suicide
- 1982 Wies Moens, Belgian writer and historian, dies at 84
- 1983 Derk Roemers, Dutch union leader/politician (soc dem), dies at 67
- 1984 Manès Sperber, Austrian-French writer (Like a Tear in the Ocean: A Trilogy), dies at 78
- 1985 Cees Bantzinger, Dutch cartoonist and illustrator, commits suicide at 70
- 1985 Georges-Émile Lapalme, Quebec politician (b. 1907)
- 1987 E. Michael Burke, sports executive (President New York Yankees, New York Knicks, Madison Square Garden), dies at 70
- 1987 William Collier [Charles F Gall Jr], American stage and film actor and producer, dies at 84
- 1989 Joe Raposa, American composer and songwriter (Sesame Street), dies at 51
- 1991 Dean Jagger, American actor (White Christmas, Vanishing Point), dies at about 87
- 1991 Pedro Arrupe, Spanish Jesuit priest (1st responder after the bombing of Hiroshima), dies at 83
- 1992 Laura Liddell, English actress (Shakespeare Wallah), dies at 83
- 1992 Miguel Rolando Covian, Brazilian physiologist (b. 1913)
- 1993 Jack Young, English cricketer (8 Tests for England 1947-49, 17 wickets), dies at 80
- 1993 Joseph L. Mankiewicz, American screenwriter and film director (All about Eve), dies at 83
- 1993 Marcel Léger, Canadian politician, dies at 62
- 1993 Tip Tipping [Tim], English film stuntman, dies in sky-diving accident at 34
Ben Enwonwu (1917-1994)
Nigerian painter (Portrait of Tutu), dies at 76
- 1994 Fred de Bruyne, Flemish cyclist/gang leader (Paris-Nice), dies at 63
- 1994 Hermann Abs, German banker to Adolf Hitler & Konrad Adenauer and director of Deutsche Bank (1938-45), dies at 92
- 1994 Kenneth "Buddy" Scott, American blues guitarist/Singer, dies at 59
- 1995 Court Benson, Canadian-American actor and broadcaster, dies at 79
- 1995 Doug Mcclure, US rodeo rider/actor (Trampas-Virginian), dies at 59
- 1995 Frederick Craig Riddle, British violist, dies at 82
- 1995 Kimberley Leston, British journalist (The Face), dies at 35
- 1996 Antonio Ruiz Soler, Spanish flamenco dancer and choreographer, dies at 74
- 1996 Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Italian opera conductor, musicologist, pianist and composer, dies at 86
- 1996 Peter Pooley, British broadcaster (Newsreel), dies at 84
- 1996 W. R. Lee, English language teacher and internationalist, dies at 84
- 1997 John Richard Patterson, English businessman (computer dating service Dateline), dies at 51
- 1997 Pamela Harriman, US Ambassador (to France), dies of stroke at 76
- 1998 Timothy "Tim" Kelly, American guitarist (Slaughter), dies in a car accident at 35
- 1999 Neville Bonner, the first Indigenous Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia, dies at 76
- 1999 Wassily Leontief, Russian economist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1906)
- 2000 Barbara Pentland, Canadian concert pianist and composer, dies at 88
- 2000 Claude Autant-Lara, French film director (Four Bags Full, Rouge et noir), dies at 98
- 2003 Charlie Biddle, American-Canadian jazz double bassist, and music promoter, dies at 76
- 2003 Helge Boes, American Central Intelligence Agency officer
- 2004 Harry West, Irish politician, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (1974-79), dies at 86
- 2004 John Hench, American animator (b. 1908)
Gnassingbé Eyadéma (1935-2005)
General and President of Togo (1967-2005), dies of a heart attack at 69
- 2006 Franklin Cover, American actor (Tom-The Jeffersons), dies at 77
- 2006 Norma Candal, Puerto Rican actress and comedian (La criada malcriada), dies at 78
- 2007 Alfred Worm, Austrian investigative journalist (b. 1945)
- 2007 Leo T. McCarthy, American politician and 43rd Lieutenant Governor of California (1983-1995) (b. 1930)
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918-2008)
Indian guru who developed Transcendental Meditation, dies at 90
- 2010 Harry Schwarz, South African lawyer, politician, diplomat and anti-apartheid leader, dies at 75
- 2010 Ian Carmichael, British actor (Private's Progress, I'm All Right Jack), dies at 89
- 2011 Brian Jacques, English author, author of the Redwall series (b. 1939)
- 2012 Al De Lory, American session pianist, arranger, and record producer (Glen Campbell), dies 82
- 2012 Sam Coppola, American actor (Saturday Night Fever), dies at 79
- 2013 Dietrich Manicke, German composer, dies at 89
- 2013 Egil Hovland, Norwegian composer, dies at 88
- 2013 Paul Tanner, American trombonist (Glenn Miller Orchestra), developer and player of the Electro-Theremin (The Beach Boys - "Good Vibrations"; "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times"), and educator (UCLA), dies of pneumonia at 95
- 2013 Stuart Freeborn, English motion picture make-up artist, dies at 98
- 2014 Richard Hayman, American orchestra leader (Vaughn Monroe Show), dies at 93
- 2015 Jeffrey Segal, British actor and playwright (Dad's Army, Traitors), dies at 94
- 2016 Bodil Malmsten, Swedish writer (The Price of Water in Finistère), dies at 71
- 2017 Thomas Lux, American poet (Split Horizon), dies of cancer at 70
- 2018 Jeremy Nunley, American NFL defensive tackle and defensive end (Houston Oilers), dies at 46
- 2019 Dakshayani 'Gaja Muthassi, elephant 'granny' Indian elephant, oldest in captivity, dies in Kerala at 88
- 2019 Guy Webster, American celebrity portrait photographer, album cover artist (The Byrds; The Mamas & the Papas; Taj Mahal; Rolling Stones), and educator, dies of liver cancer and diabetes complications at 79
- 2020 Buddy Cage, American pedal steel guitarist (New Riders of the Purple Sage, Great Speckled Bird), dies from multiple myeloma at 73
Kirk Douglas (1916-2020)
American actor (Spartacus, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral), dies at 103
- 2021 Alan Scott, American lyricist (Candid Camera theme), writer, TV host (Spin the Picture), and actor, dies at 98
- 2021 Charlie Krueger, American College Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle (Texas A&M; Pro Bowl 1960, 64; San Francisco 49ers), dies from heart and kidney failure at 84
Christopher Plummer (1929-2021)
Canadian Emmy, Tony, and Oscar winning actor (Sound of Music; Cyrano; Beginners), dies at 91 [1]
- 2021 John Pullin, English rugby union hooker (42 caps; British Lions 7 caps; Bristol RFC), dies at 79
- 2021 Joseph Benz, Swiss bobsledder (Olympic gold 2-man 1980; World C'ship gold 4-man 1975; 2-man 1978, 79), dies from COVID-19 at 76
- 2021 Julio Canani, Peruvian thoroughbred horse racing trainer (Breeders' Cup Mile 1999, 2001; Juvenile Fillies 2004), dies at 82
Leon Spinks (1953-2021)
American boxer (WBC, WBA heavyweight champion 1978; Olympic gold light heavyweight 1976), dies from prostate cancer at 67
- 2021 Sam Gannon, Australian cricket fast bowler (3 Tests, 11 wickets; Western Australia; Chairman WACA), dies at 73
- 2022 Pat Britt, American jazz saxophonist, flute player, and producer, dies at 82
Pervez Musharraf (1943-2023)
Pakistani general and politician, 10th President of Pakistan (2001-2008), dies at 79
Toby Keith (1961-2024)
American country singer ("Should've Been A Cowboy"; "She Never Cried In Front Of Me"), and actor (Broken Bridges), dies of stomach cancer at 62 [1]
- 2024 Tsutomu Hanahara, Japanese freestyle wrestler (Olympic gold flyweight 1964), dies at 84
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning